22/01/2020
21826 times read
22/01/2020
21826 times read
Housing covered 50% market last year
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22, (KUNA): The real-estate sector in Kuwait is forecast to thrive in 2020 against backdrop of noticeable activity in 2019. Bullish trend in the sector is largely attributed to investors’ security concern, hike of demand for housing, investment and commercial units.
Some of the factors expected to stimulate the boost are Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s measures to secure the sector against fraud, “non-realistic enterprises” and kick-off of the broker e-book on the ministry website. Traders look forward for endorsing the realty mortgage law, concerning private houses’ trades – a step that would revise property, banking, contracting and construction sectors. Realty trades, last year, amounted to KD 3.4 billion ($11.5 billion), 50 percent of which were for private housing.
A report issued by Kuwait Finance House, regarding domestic real-estate market in Q3 2019, said investment units are distinguished with significant proceeds, higher than those posted in the commercial plots. Returns from investment realty plots were stable in end of q3 2019, at proportions ranging between 7.3 and 8.3 percent. Those of the commercial plots also steadied, ranging between 7.3 percent and 8.4 percent. In this respect, two Kuwaiti realty experts predict a noticeable recovery in the local market this year – buoyed by lack of a sufficient number of available units in the housing, investment and commercial plots.
President of Al-Dulaijan realestate office, Suleiman Al-Dulaijan, told KUNA that the local property market turned noticeably bullish in 2019, compared with 2016 and 2017 – in these two years the sector noticeably became bearish.
The property sector lures a large number of entrepreneurs, with annual proceeds ranging between seven and eight percent. Housing covered 50 percent of the market total value last year, compared with 30 percent in the commercial sector. Small-capital entrepreneurs favor investment in residential units, prices of which range between KD 250,000 and KD 500,000 ($850,000 and $1.7 billion).
Al-Dulaijan forecast demand rise in all realty sectors, noting that the demand would be much higher than the displayed plots. Manager of Athra Real-Estate company, Maitham Al-Shakhs, indicated at forecast mega projects, namely the north zone and Al-Harir city, forecast to back up the broad development strategy, New Kuwait 2035.
Realty is the best investment and the safest among all businesses and at all times, he said, also noting that its proceeds are the highest too. Al-Shakhs hoped real-estate laws would be updated to facilitate trades, forecasting a bullish trend in the sector this year – particularly in housing.